5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 5, Avalanche 4

DENVER -- Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal on the power play with 3:30 left in regulation to lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Tuesday.
Florida has now won three of its last four games to improve to 19-19-4.
"He's got a nose for the net," Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said of Tkachuk. "He's there for a reason and he's a top player in this league."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. FINNS ON TOP

There appears to be something brewing between Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell.
Teaming up together on the top line, the Panthers opened the scoring just 9:07 into the first period when Lundell beat out both Cale Makar and Devon Toews to a loose puck before sending a pass into the slot to set up Barkov for a backhand goal on Alexander Georgiev to make it 1-0.

"That was as good a game as I've seen Lundell play all year, and I thought Barkov looked energized," Panther head coach Paul Maurice said. "There might be something there."
With both players finding success, Barkov finished the game with a goal, an assist and two blocked shots, while Lundell posted an assist and fired off a season-high six shots on goal.
Playing a strong defensive game, that line -- which also included Sam Reinhart -- limited the Avalanche to just nine shot attempts over 13:09 of ice time at 5-on-5 despite starting 15 of their 20 shifts in the neutral or defensive zone, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.

2. ROCK THE VOTE

Let's get Montour to the NHL All-Star Game!
Carrying his strong first half of the season into the first game of the second half, Montour rifled a laser of a shot past Georgiev to put the Panthers up 2-0 over the Avalanche in the first period.

In the midst of a career season, Montour leads Florida's defensemen in goals (7), assists (27) and points (34). As it stands now, his 34 points also rank tied for sixth among NHL defensemen and second to only Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin (44 points) in the Atlantic Division.
"I'm just trying to play a two-way game and be hard in my own end," Montour said. "We've got some pretty skilled players to play with, too. It's fun getting up the ice and making plays. I'd like to have a few more goals, but it's just finding the right guys and they're putting it in the net."
With 40 games left to play, Montour, who's averaging a team-high 24:38 of ice time per game, needs just three more points to match the career-high 37 he recorded in 81 games in 2021-22.
To send him to the All-Star Game, cast your ballot at
NHL.com/Vote
.

3. BENNETT DOES IT ALL

After helping set up Montour's goal with a fantastic poke check in the defensive zone, Sam Bennett was rewarded for his efforts with a goal of his own less than two minutes later.
In one of the most Sam-centric plays you'll ever see, Bennett took a pass from Reinhart, who made a great play to get the sequence started, and zipped a quick shot past a sprawled-out Georgiev from the slot while on the power play to give the Panthers a 3-0 advantage at 13:47 of the first period.

"We did all the right things," Bennett said. "We came out flying."
Finding the back of the net in two of the last three games, Bennett has recorded 27 points (nine goals, 18 assist) in 42 games this season. Doing a bit of everything against the Avalanche, he also registered a team-high three takeaways, two hits, two blocks and won 67% of his faceoffs.
"I felt great," Bennett said.

4. WEATHERING THE STORM

After watching a 4-1 lead turn into a 4-4 tie late in the third period, the Panthers didn't panic.
"I thought we did a good job of composing ourselves," Bennett said. "They came at us hard, they capitalized, and then we did a good job of resetting, refocusing and just going out there and playing."
And when the Panthers earned their late power play, Montour said the message was simple.
"Score."
Crashing the net and playing the role of hero, Tkachuk made several whacks at the puck before it eventually went off a defender's skate and across the goal line to put the Panthers up 5-4 with just 3:30 remaining on the clock in regulation.

Shutting the door, Sergei Bobrovsky then made three saves after that to lock down the win.
"Obviously you don't like what happened there in the third, but guys stuck with it," Montour said. "We knew they were going to come at us. It was nice to get one on the power play when we needed it. Like I said, guys worked the whole game. It was nice to see."

5. TKACHUK'S BIG GOALS

Montour said it best when asked about Tkachuk's performance against the Avalanche.
"A big player comes up at big times."
Netting a pair of critical goals for the Panthers, Tkachuk showed off his otherworldly skills around the net on both of them, especially on his late game-winning goal on the power play.
Of course, his rebound goal in the second period wasn't too shabby either.

Set to compete at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in South Florida, the 25-year-old forward leads the Panthers in goals (22), assists (29) and points (51), and with his second-period goal became just the third player in franchise history to hit 50 points in 39 or fewer games.
"He's scored big goals for us all year," Bennett said.